Rowling's revelation casts Dumbledore in new light for readers

Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, played in the 2007 film "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by Michael Gambon, has a new wrinkle in his story line. The masterly wizard is gay, according to author J.K. Rowling.

The next time Harry Potter fans reread the seven-book series, they'll do it with an important new fact in mind. Albus Dumbledore, beloved Hogwarts headmaster and mentor to hero Harry Potter, is gay.

"I always saw Dumbledore as gay," author J.K. Rowling said in answer to a fan's question, according to wire reports. Rowling spoke Friday at a reading in New York's Carnegie Hall, attended by about 2,000 Harry Potter fans who won tickets through a national drawing.

Rowling pointed to the seventh and last book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which deals with Dumbledore's intense friendship with the wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

"Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald," Rowling revealed at the Carnegie Hall reading. Fans worldwide lined up to buy "Deathly Hallows" last July.

Dumbledore dies in Book 6, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but many revelations about his family and early life come in Book 7. The headmaster's sexuality is not mentioned in the series.

Here are some questions fans are pondering:

Why did Rowling reveal this now? Why didn't she make Dumbledore explicitly gay in the books?

One answer is that despite her substantial adult readership, Rowling always wrote with children uppermost in her mind. She might have felt that a discussion of a major character's sexuality was inappropriate. She might have worried about reader backlash or opposition from her British and U.S. publishers.

A more cynical take is that Rowling, who's a gazillionaire, is standing up for what she believes at a time when it's safe to do so.

If she had chosen to "out" Dumbledore in the books, she could have made important points about tolerance (or lack thereof) in the wizarding world -- and given a major role model to young gay readers.

Will a gay character in the Potter books fuel further controversy? The series has been called anti-Christian for its depiction of magic and spells, and many parents do not allow their children to read it.

This will reinforce some parents' opinion that Rowling's series is inappropriate, but it likely won't make parents hide the Harry Potter books they've already got on the bookshelves.

Does this information change how fans feel about Dumbledore?

It will be impossible to reread the books without thinking about Dumbledore's sexuality. It adds depth to the character. It doesn't mean that fans will love the books any less.

Actually, we are all reacting to the news about Dumbledore the same way we do when a real-life friend or relative comes out. There's surprise (or not), and a little awkwardness, quickly followed by the realization that he or she is the same person we've always loved.